2025 Baseball Preview: The UC Irvine Series

IRVINE, Calif. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball team makes its longest trip in over a decade when it travels to face nationally-ranked UC Irvine in a three-game series beginning Friday at Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark.

First pitch for Friday's opener is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT. The series will continue on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT before wrapping up on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT. All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be heard in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.

Louisiana (5-4) earned a split in a pair of midweek games this week, falling on Tuesday at McNeese before posting a 9-7 win on Wednesday against visiting Southeastern Louisiana.

The series with UC Irvine, ranked No. 20 by Baseball America, marks Louisiana's first trip to the Golden State since 2011 when it competed in the Cal Baseball Classic in San Francisco. The Ragin' Cajuns made previous trips to the state of California in 1982 (Best in the West Classic) and 1991 (Fresno State).

Chase Morgan (1-1, 2.00 ERA) and Blake McGehee (1-1, 4.50 ERA) will start on the mound in the first two games for Louisiana with Sunday's starter to be determined. The Anteaters will send three right-handers to mound, beginning with Danny Suarez (0-0, 9.00 ERA) on Friday followed by Jack Ross (1-1, 3.86) and Trevor Hansen (0-0, 7.04 ERA).

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Baseball season and single-game tickets are available for purchase online at RaginCajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 482-GoUL (4685). Fans can also support the baseball student-athletes, and invest in the program's future, through the Krewe Allons NIL Collective (click here).

Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.

For the latest updates on Ragin' Cajuns baseball, follow on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.

GAMES 10-12 PREVIEW
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (5-4) at UC Irvine Anteaters (5-3)

DATE/TIMES (dates and times are subject to change)
Friday (February 28) – 8 p.m. CT
Saturday (March 1) – 3 p.m. CT
Sunday (March 2) – 3 p.m. CT

LOCATION/SITE
Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark (3,408) | Irvine, Calif.

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY – 8 p.m. CT
LOUISIANA | LH Chase Morgan (6-3, 185, So., Cypress, Texas)
2025 Stats: 1-1, 2.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 13 K

UC IRVINE | RH Danny Suarez (6-3, 210, R-Jr., Trabuco Canyon, Calif.)
2025 Stats: 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 8 BB, 6 K

SATURDAY – 3 p.m. CT
LOUISIANA | RH Blake McGehee (6-0, 190, R-Jr., Alexandria, La.)
2025 Stats: 1-1, 4.50 ERA, 8.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

UC IRVINE | RH Jack Ross (6-3, 200, Jr., Huntington Beach, Calif.)
2025 Stats: 1-1, 3.86 ERA, 7.0 IP, 6 H, 9 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 5 K

SUNDAY – 3 p.m. CT
LOUISIANA | TBD

UC IRVINE | RH Trevor Hansen (6-2, 195, So., Simi Valley, Calif.)
2025 Stats: 0-0, 7.04 ERA, 7.2 IP, 10 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 5 K

RANKINGS
Louisiana – Unranked
UC Irvine – No. 20 (Baseball America)

RADIO/TV/LIVE STATISTICS
RADIO (Pregame Show starts 30 minutes prior to first pitch)
Station – KPEL-FM 96.5 / The Varsity Network App
Talent – Jay Walker (pxp); Anthony Babineaux (color)

TV/STREAMING (ESPN+)
Talent – TBA

LIVE STATS
CajunStats.com

SERIES RECORD
Overall – Louisiana leads, 2-1
In Lafayette – Louisiana leads, 2-1
In Irvine – First meeting
Last 10 – Louisiana, 2-1
Streak – Louisiana +2
Last Meeting – Louisiana, 5-3 (February 20, 2022 at Lafayette)

THE ON DECK CIRCLE
• Louisiana makes its first trip to the state of California since 2011 when it travels to face nationally-ranked UC Irvine in a three-game series beginning Friday.
• The visit to the Golden State is Louisiana's first since 2011 when it faced Cal, UC Santa Barbara and San Francisco at the Cal Baseball Classic at then-AT&T Park in San Francisco.
• The Ragin' Cajuns faced Fresno State in the 1991 season (May 16-18), earning a 9-3 victory in the middle game of the three-game series
• Under head coach Mel Didier, Louisiana played five games in the 1982 Best in the West Classic in Fresno, claiming wins over Long Beach and UNLV.
• The series against UC Irvine marks the first of seven straight games for Louisiana against teams which competed in the 2024 NCAA Regionals.
• The teams meet for the first time since opening the 2022 campaign in Lafayette with the Cajuns claiming the final two games to win the three-game series.
• The series marks the first time Louisiana has played two series against teams from California in the same season. The Ragin' Cajuns opened the year with a three-game set at home against San Jose State.
• After concluding its series against the Anteaters, Louisiana will return home for a midweek game against UNC Wilmington (March 5) before opening a three-game set against visiting Dallas Baptist (March 7-9).
• Louisiana's 11 sacrifice bunts through the first nine games leads Division I.
• Sam Ardoin's three sac bunts are second among Sun Belt Conference players and seventh in Division I.

SCOUTING UC IRVINE
• UC Irvine, ranked No. 20 by Baseball America, opened the season at the MLB Desert Invitational defeating Nebraska and New Mexico before dropping a one-run game to Vanderbilt.
• The Anteaters dropped its home opener to USC before taking two of three games last weekend at Texas Tech.
• Former UCI All-American shortstop Ben Orloff is in his seventh year at his alma mater and has taken the Anteaters to a pair of NCAA Regionals.
• Four players are hitting above .400 during the early part of the season with Colin Yeaman (.432-1-10), Jacob McCombs (.429-3-12) and Rowan Felsch (.400-1-5) leading the way.

2025 Baseball Preview: The UC Irvine Series

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Players Mentioned

Sam Ardoin

Blake McGehee

Chase Morgan

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